How to choose best bagpacks for kids and adults (health issues)
Best bagpacks for kids and adults Simmons College professor Shelly Goodgold found that 55 percent of fifth- through eighth-grade students she surveyed carry backpack loads weighing more than 15 percent of their body weight. One-third of those students said they've suffered back pain. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children carry no more than 10 percent to 20 percent of their weight in a backpack. The results of the new study are to be presented Saturday at a national conference of the American Physical Therapy Association in San Antonio. The study was based on a survey of 345 Massachusetts children. Strains Back and Neck When you carry something that is really heavy, your head goes forward and you lean forward," said Goodgold, an associate professor of physical therapy. "This can produce strains in the neck, and strains in the back. Holding it over one shoulder can also create imbalances." Previous studies have shown th...